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I've seen this comparison of the ending credits of Rambo III:

Original ending credits: Original ending credits

Rewritten(?) ending credits: Rewritten(?) ending credits

Did this happen, or is it manufactured?

I've found this comparison on twitter.

Oddthinking
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Jost
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    No pictures, but the same claim is made on both [IMDB](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095956/synopsis) and the [Rambo Wiki](http://rambo.wikia.com/wiki/Mujahideen). – Is Begot Jul 17 '15 at 18:34
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    @IsBegot "The content of this page was created directly by users and has not been screened or verified by IMDb staff." – Evan Carroll Apr 19 '17 at 19:06

2 Answers2

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Original sources from the time of the movie's release, 1988, state that the film is dedicated to the "gallant people of Afghanistan".

See the BBC's The Listener volumes 119-120, page 218:

When he does pitch in it's only in order to rescue the Colonel, before becoming converted to the cause of the 'gallant people of Afghanistan' (to whom the film is dedicated). And if the previous Rambo films have been replays of Vietnam with...

And New York Times Film Review 1987-88, page 281:

"Rambo III" Is dedicated "to the gallant people of Afghanistan," and it clearly intends that its politics be taken seriously. The plot sends Rambo into Afghanistan on a rescue mission after Trautman, who has been educating Afghan freedom...

The New York Times article is from the exact day the movie opened in theaters.

Rambo III was dedicated to the "gallant people of Afghanistan" from the beginning.

The 1995 book Civil War in Pop Culture further confirms at page 152:

a note at the end of the movie states that "this film is dedicated to the gallant people of Afghanistan"

The 1994 book Vietnam war films: over 600 feature, made-for-TV, pilot, and short movies, 1939-1992, from the United States, Vietnam, France, Belgium, Australia, Hong Kong, South Africa, Great Britain, and other countries also says at page 355:

Dedicated to the "gallant people of Afghanistan," the film intends to be taken seriously. It starts with a prologue showing Rambo's newfound inner peace ("My war is over").

DavePhD
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    Could this maybe have been the original credit in other markets (ie. in Afghanistan itself)? – Stuart P. Bentley Jul 18 '15 at 09:50
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    I'd like to second Stuart's comment. I'm quite sure that I've seen "original" credits at least once on TV. – AndrejaKo Jul 18 '15 at 17:06
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    When looking up Rambo III, I have found that multiple websites do, in fact, refer to this change, including the Belgian Wikipedia page for Rambo III and a Mental Floss article that refers to "the stallone handbook", stating this has changed after the attacks of September 11. So it is possible that this was the case in certain parts of the world. – Nzall Jul 18 '15 at 20:02
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    @NateKerkhofs yes, multiple sites refer to the supposed change, but no source before 2001 says anything about Rambo III being dedicated to the "brave mujahideen fighters", instead multiple credible sources say "gallant people of Afghanistan" – DavePhD Jul 18 '15 at 21:59
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    @StuartP.Bentley Surely if there were an edition produced with text specifically chosen for the Afghan market, that text would not be in English? – IMSoP Jul 23 '15 at 20:30
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Additional evidence that the "Mujahideen of Afghanistan" image is fake can be seen from a few screencaptures of the 2004 release DVD, which contains the latter line in the image. If the claim is true, this would imply that the DVD has been edited from the original. However, the two captures from the movie are taken at different times.

At the end of the movie, before the credits roll, Rambo drives out of the scene, revealing an army of Afghan mujahideen riding into the distance.

At the timing that corresponds to the "Mujahideen" image, it can clearly be seen that there is no text on the screen.

enter image description here

The same scene four seconds later shows the "Gallant People" image, and there is text on the screen.

enter image description here

Therefore, given that none of the news sources when the movie was released mentioned the "Mujahideen" wording, and the video image of the scene at the point where the alleged "Mujahideen" image was taken has no text overlay, it is reasonable to conclude that the author of the images has dishonestly added the text via image manipulation. While this evidence is insufficient in isolation, it is strong evidence when combined with the other answer.

Community
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March Ho
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  • Also, the two fonts are completely different. – Reid Jul 19 '15 at 15:12
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    The UK DVD has the Mujahideen dedication. All your screencaps really prove is that they have redone the captions when they mastered your specific DVD release. – JamesRyan Jul 19 '15 at 15:50
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    @JamesRyan This sounds interesting to me. Would you care to elaborate: which UK DVD edition? Can it be still seen somewhere? – Suma Jul 19 '15 at 18:55
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    @jamesryan I would like to see that too. If you have the DVD or an example screenshot, please do post an answer. – March Ho Jul 19 '15 at 22:50
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    @JamesRyan what year did you get the dvd? – DavePhD Jul 20 '15 at 00:55
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    I need to check but 2002 I think. – JamesRyan Jul 20 '15 at 10:40
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    @MarchHo That's not the same picture. Clearly, it's been remastered. It's missing the cart on the left. – Evan Carroll Apr 19 '17 at 19:08
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    @JamesRyan are you still around to post a video of the Mujahideen ending to YouTube or elsewhere? Everything points to this being an elaborate hoax (including this [odd VCRed screenshot](https://old.reddit.com/r/conspiracy/comments/29kj5i/the_original_rambo_iii_ending_quote/) that looks like the same frame was used). If you have a video of the Mujahideen ending, that would be a very interesting twist to this story. – Ivan Kozik May 31 '19 at 11:17